Marina LCP key to any linkage of Route 90 into Admiralty Way in Marina

A linkage of the Marina Freeway (Route 90) access expressway into Marina del Rey is driv-en by the Marina del Rey Local Coastal Plan, the County Marina del Rey Design Control Board was told last week.

A briefing on the proposed project — which has been discussed for some 25 years —was provided to design board members by County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Program Development Division representative Dominic Osmena at the Design Control Board meeting Thursday, February 16th, at the Burton Chace Park Community Building in the Marina.

Osmena and county traffic consultant Barry Kurtz, Sr. said that the improvements to the regional transportation system are driven by the Marina LCP.

The purpose and need to improve Admiralty Way are to permit development as indicated in the Marina LCP, improve air quality, accommodate future traffic generation, improve bike and pedestrian access and circulation and provide an aesthetic landscaped parkway experience along Admiralty Way, Osmena said.

During the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process of the environmental impact study, Osmena said there will be several opportunities for the public to participate in public scoping and public review meetings, which will be announced.

TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS — According to Osmena, the multimodal transportation improvements outlined by the LCP include:

– road improvements;

– increased bicycle use;

– shuttle or DASH buses to serve the Marina;

– periphery parking lots;

– light rail and/or a people mover along Lincoln Boulevard;

– transit promotion and incentives; and

– telecommuting and ridesharing.

PROJECTS IN PROGRESS — Osmena said that multimodal projects in progress include:

– a Route 90 connector road environmental impact report and statement (EIR and EIS), which is estimated to take two years for completion;

– a Santa Monica Rapid Bus line that has begun along Lincoln Boulevard between Santa Monica and the airport;

– an exclusive bus lane on Lincoln Boulevard, which is being discussed, but not yet enacted;

– placement of additional buses on Lincoln Boulevard;

– a Marina water shuttle that now runs summers in the Marina;

– improved bicycle facilities;

– expansion of a Playa Vista shuttle system to Marina del Rey; and

– added pedestrian crossings and widened sidewalks.

The purpose and need of the Route 90 improvement project are to provide a direct entrance into Marina del Rey and improve water and air quality, Osmena said.

Improvement of traffic operations and safety are planned at the following intersections:

– Washington Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard ;

– Route 90 and Lincoln Boul-evard;

-Lincoln Boulevard and Maxella Avenue/Marina Pointe Drive;

– Mindanao Way between Route 90 and Lincoln Boulevard; and

– efforts to relieve closely located intersections, such as Lincoln Boulevard and Maxella Avenue/Marina Pointe Drive and Route 90 and Lincoln Boulevard intersections.

ADMIRALTY WAY ALTERNATIVES — A “Do Nothing Alternative” would be to leave everything as it is and live with the increasing traffic congestion, said Kurtz.

Alternatives to widen Admiralty Way to five or six lanes would create three northwest-bound lanes and two southeast lanes with full-width lanes, enhanced landscaped medians and sidewalks with possible minor land acquisitions, said Osmena.

A five-lane re-striping alternative would re-stripe and relocate the median to create a fifth lane within the existing right-of-way, create no land acquisition, and result in substandard lane, median and sidewalk widths, he said.

A continuous flow alternative would reconfigure an existing “T” junction intersection to create a continuous Admiralty Way loop around the Marina del Rey at the Via Marina intersection and facilitate periphery access around the Marina and to the water, said Osmena.

This alternative would relocate a small park and monument at the Admiralty Way and Via Marina intersection, Osmena said.

There are also alternative proposals to link Route 90 at various places on Admiralty Way, such as at Bali Way, and these are currently under study through the environmental impact report, said Osmena.

Design control chair Susan Cloke said she hopes the process isn’t being driven by the need to accommodate more vehicle traffic in the Marina and several audience members spoke out against the improvement project.